POLICE are investigating claims of both school and cyber bullying in the case of a 14-year-old girl who ‘took her own life’ in Malaga’s Benalmadena this weekend.
The death of the teenager, named Angela, is under an open investigation by the Policia Nacional who have now confiscated her devices after her parents revealed that she was being bullied, says SUR.
The mobile phone and tablet have had all the information contained in their terminals dumped so that they can be analysed by investigators.
This includes every conversation that the teenager has had on instant messenger, WhatsApp and those that are still available to be read on social media.
With this analysis yet to be completed, investigators are working on the only lead they have been given, a piece of information received by Angela’s parents.
When officers entered the family home on Saturday night the parents told them that their daughter had recently started to experience psychological problems that she was being treated for, they believe these were a result of the ‘bullying’ she suffered in school.
Investigators are looking into this lead and also working through the aforementioned data from the teenager’s devices as they know that any ‘bullying’ could have continued outside of school through social media.
After participating in carnaval celebrations on Saturday, Angela did not respond to calls from her family, something which was unusual for the teenager who has been described as a good student with no problems at home by those who knew her.
She had last been seen by her older brother at 4pm and so her parents called the Benalmadena Policia Local who sent out patrol cars to search for her.
These search efforts were unsuccessful and ultimately it was her older brother who found her dead in the basement of their family home.
This is not the first teenage suicide with links to bullying that has occurred in southern Spain in recent months.
Two girls, aged 15 and 16, took their own lives after suffering school bullying in Jaen in December and another 15-year-old who was being bullied died by suicide in Sevilla in October.
The latter incident led to protests across Malaga as part of a nationwide strike demanding antibullying measures be implemented across the region.
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